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Ransom to Love
Hacking is hard… Finding love is harder.
Teri Simlake is a computer scientist drawn to the dark side of freelance hacking in order to keep a roof over her head and cat food on the table. She has a soft spot for cute cat ears and Number One, her grey British Shorthair, plays that to his advantage.
Sophie Keegan hates hackers with a passion. They make everything in life difficult, as if having her friends constantly pressuring her to date wasn’t hard enough.
Will a chance encounter bring Number One's catnip empire to it's knees? Will a story of insecurity, gender identity and confrontation become an unconventional tale of love and peace with oneself?
Teri Simlake is a computer scientist drawn to the dark side of freelance hacking in order to keep a roof over her head and cat food on the table. She has a soft spot for cute cat ears and Number One, her grey British Shorthair, plays that to his advantage.
Sophie Keegan hates hackers with a passion. They make everything in life difficult, as if having her friends constantly pressuring her to date wasn’t hard enough.
Will a chance encounter bring Number One's catnip empire to it's knees? Will a story of insecurity, gender identity and confrontation become an unconventional tale of love and peace with oneself?
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2022
26 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Chloe Keto
3 books10 followersChloe Keto is a new author but a longtime passionate fan of the romantic WLW genre. She lives at home in the south of England with her wife and two nearly teenage football loving children. She believes that all stories can be improved with a good dose of romantic magic!
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 10, 2022
This is Chloe‘s debut novel and what can I say? She gifted us with a heartwarming story, that includes sweet MC‘s, some incredible side characters (I want to see again, especially one) and of course the sweetest cat Number One. If you ask him he would tell you that he is the star of the book and would have deserved more page time. ☺️
But well sorry Number One I also need to tell something about the other characters and the story. As much as I wanted to adopt you. 😉 On the one hand we have Number One‘s mum Teri. She is the one who reminded me of myself so much. Her insecurities are deeply rooted and I know how difficult it is to let them go and believe in yourself.
When she meets Sophie in a very inconvenient way through one of her hacking attacks, her life seems to stand still. She can’t believe that this beautiful woman is the one who she gets to deal with at company she attacked. And as much as she is drawn to Sophie, she can’t believe anyway that Sophie would be interested in someone like her.
What I loved so much is how Teri‘s self-confidence grows the longer the story goes on. Sophie plays a huge part in it, because in her sweet but also demanding way, she definitely makes the difference someone like Teri needs. To have someone who finally believes in yourself after you always felt not being enough, is everything.
I also loved that Chloe included another very important topic. Or rather it’s the thing I loved the most. And if you wanna get surprised in the book, stop reading my review here. 😉
Chloe builds the story up until it is revealed and we get to know that one of the characters is trans. For me she did this in a wonderful way and the way she described the whole experiences touched my heart. Also how she explained some other things, was great.
All of this leads me to recommend this wonderful debut novel about whom I am so glad I got to read it. Chloe can be very proud for what she has accomplished. 😊 If you look for a book with sweet characters, not much angst (aside from characters insecurities), some sexy & hot scenes, this is the book for you. 😊
But well sorry Number One I also need to tell something about the other characters and the story. As much as I wanted to adopt you. 😉 On the one hand we have Number One‘s mum Teri. She is the one who reminded me of myself so much. Her insecurities are deeply rooted and I know how difficult it is to let them go and believe in yourself.
When she meets Sophie in a very inconvenient way through one of her hacking attacks, her life seems to stand still. She can’t believe that this beautiful woman is the one who she gets to deal with at company she attacked. And as much as she is drawn to Sophie, she can’t believe anyway that Sophie would be interested in someone like her.
What I loved so much is how Teri‘s self-confidence grows the longer the story goes on. Sophie plays a huge part in it, because in her sweet but also demanding way, she definitely makes the difference someone like Teri needs. To have someone who finally believes in yourself after you always felt not being enough, is everything.
I also loved that Chloe included another very important topic. Or rather it’s the thing I loved the most. And if you wanna get surprised in the book, stop reading my review here. 😉
Chloe builds the story up until it is revealed and we get to know that one of the characters is trans. For me she did this in a wonderful way and the way she described the whole experiences touched my heart. Also how she explained some other things, was great.
All of this leads me to recommend this wonderful debut novel about whom I am so glad I got to read it. Chloe can be very proud for what she has accomplished. 😊 If you look for a book with sweet characters, not much angst (aside from characters insecurities), some sexy & hot scenes, this is the book for you. 😊
June 13, 2022
This is Chloe‘s debut novel and what can I say? She gifted us with a heartwarming story, that includes sweet MC‘s, some incredible side characters (I want to see again, especially one) and of course the sweetest cat Number One. If you ask him he would tell you that he is the star of the book and would have deserved more page time. ☺️
But well sorry Number One I also need to tell something about the other characters and the story. As much as I wanted to adopt you. 😉 On the one hand we have Number One‘s mum Teri. She is the one who reminded me of myself so much. Her insecurities are deeply rooted and I know how difficult it is to let them go and believe in yourself.
When she meets Sophie in a very inconvenient way through one of her hacking attacks, her life seems to stand still. She can’t believe that this beautiful woman is the one who she gets to deal with at company she attacked. And as much as she is drawn to Sophie, she can’t believe anyway that Sophie would be interested in someone like her.
What I loved so much is how Teri‘s self-confidence grows the longer the story goes on. Sophie plays a huge part in it, because in her sweet but also demanding way, she definitely makes the difference someone like Teri needs. To have someone who finally believes in yourself after you always felt not being enough, is everything.
I also loved that Chloe included another very important topic. Or rather it’s the thing I loved the most. And if you wanna get surprised in the book, stop reading my review here. 😉
Chloe builds the story up until it is revealed and we get to know that one of the characters is trans. For me she did this in a wonderful way and the way she described the whole experiences touched my heart. Also how she explained some other things, was great.
All of this leads me to recommend this wonderful debut novel about whom I am so glad I got to read it. Chloe can be very proud for what she has accomplished. 😊 If you look for a book with sweet characters, not much angst (aside from characters insecurities), some sexy & hot scenes, this is the book for you. 😊
But well sorry Number One I also need to tell something about the other characters and the story. As much as I wanted to adopt you. 😉 On the one hand we have Number One‘s mum Teri. She is the one who reminded me of myself so much. Her insecurities are deeply rooted and I know how difficult it is to let them go and believe in yourself.
When she meets Sophie in a very inconvenient way through one of her hacking attacks, her life seems to stand still. She can’t believe that this beautiful woman is the one who she gets to deal with at company she attacked. And as much as she is drawn to Sophie, she can’t believe anyway that Sophie would be interested in someone like her.
What I loved so much is how Teri‘s self-confidence grows the longer the story goes on. Sophie plays a huge part in it, because in her sweet but also demanding way, she definitely makes the difference someone like Teri needs. To have someone who finally believes in yourself after you always felt not being enough, is everything.
I also loved that Chloe included another very important topic. Or rather it’s the thing I loved the most. And if you wanna get surprised in the book, stop reading my review here. 😉
Chloe builds the story up until it is revealed and we get to know that one of the characters is trans. For me she did this in a wonderful way and the way she described the whole experiences touched my heart. Also how she explained some other things, was great.
All of this leads me to recommend this wonderful debut novel about whom I am so glad I got to read it. Chloe can be very proud for what she has accomplished. 😊 If you look for a book with sweet characters, not much angst (aside from characters insecurities), some sexy & hot scenes, this is the book for you. 😊
could-not-finish
January 19, 2024DNF @ 17%. A very gentle DNF. I do try not to be hard on indie-published books for their editing or lack thereof. But alas, there was so much bad punctuation in this that it was driving me to distraction. The premise is cute (sapphic rom-com where a benevolent hacker meets an employee of one of her corporate victims) but the characters aren't doing much for me and the writing style is a little too cutesy for my tastes. Too many exclamation marks. And it would be unfair of me to finish this book and then write a review complaining about how the author kept using commas in places where a semi-colon or full stop were necessary. Because trust me, I would complain. I wish I were the type of reader who could ignore these kinds of things. And I mean, I can, to a certain extent. But this was toooooooooo much.
Seems very cute though; give it a go if you're interested.
Seems very cute though; give it a go if you're interested.
June 9, 2022
I had the pleasure of meeting Chloe in person recently, and when she explained the premise of Ransom to Love I was instantly hooked. Ransom to Love follows Teri and Sophie as they meet in... let's say less-than-ideal circumstances, and become one of the cutest, sweetest couples I have ever read about in lesfic. (Not to mention Number One the cat, who was the cutest and sweetest cat I have ever read about in lesfic.) Chloe's descriptions paint the scenes (yes, including THOSE scenes) very vividly, so that readers really feel as if they're in Teri and Sophie's world. And when everything fell into place at the end... I was so delighted for them, I felt like a proud aunt!
One brilliant debut novel from Chloe Keto. I can't wait to see what she writes next! (And if Number One doesn't find a significant other at some point, I will be verrrrry disappointed...)
One brilliant debut novel from Chloe Keto. I can't wait to see what she writes next! (And if Number One doesn't find a significant other at some point, I will be verrrrry disappointed...)
June 5, 2022
so lovely
Chloe’s Ransom to Love was such a great first book and I can’t wait to read more from her. Both main characters were sweethearts and I loved the personalities of the side characters!
Chloe’s Ransom to Love was such a great first book and I can’t wait to read more from her. Both main characters were sweethearts and I loved the personalities of the side characters!
April 3, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I love Teri and Sophie, the 2 MCS. Number One is a typical cat! It's a cute story with tons of hot sex! I look forward to reading more of Chloe Keto's books (as she writes them). I gave it 5 stars.
February 18, 2023
This wasn't an easy one to rate or review. There is a lot to this story, a tale of two woman finding each other through unusual circumstances, and falling in love, discovering each other, and having to deal with the repercussions of the method in which they met.
There are a lot of cute moments, of seeing them get closer. There's insecurities and confidence, and lots of sweetness. There is a lot of sex too. One of the scenes goes over two chapters. The trans aspects are handled interestingly, without dominating the story when they do come to light, and I appreciate how it was handled.
The writing style, though, is not for me. I found it hard to read, especially for later parts of the book, and considered dropping it a number of times. It's the kind of style that is fine in small doses, and will appeal to some, and if that's you, you will thoroughly enjoy the story.
There are a lot of cute moments, of seeing them get closer. There's insecurities and confidence, and lots of sweetness. There is a lot of sex too. One of the scenes goes over two chapters. The trans aspects are handled interestingly, without dominating the story when they do come to light, and I appreciate how it was handled.
The writing style, though, is not for me. I found it hard to read, especially for later parts of the book, and considered dropping it a number of times. It's the kind of style that is fine in small doses, and will appeal to some, and if that's you, you will thoroughly enjoy the story.
June 9, 2022
“We aren’t all what we seem on the surface.”
A sweet and steamy sapphic romance that is perfect to read curled up in your favourite chair or if you're more Like Teri, in a nice hot bath with a kindle in hand!
A Lesbian MC, Trans lesbian MC, and a cat called Number One, what else would you need in such a wonderful W/W romance!
I really liked the relationship that built between the two characters in this book and some of the friendships that are in it too.
I wish there was a bit more writing and mention of the coffee shop and the owner because it felt like it was mentioned and then just gone. It would have even been nice to see the couple go back to the shop maybe (but this is just my thoughts and me being a sucker for coffee shop meets)
Where their meeting was rather different to other meet cutes, I rather liked how it initially drew them together.
For anyone who is on the search for a steamy romance to read during pride month or any other month of the year, this is definitely an enjoyable book to pick up!
I was provided with an eArc of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review. This has by no means affected my thoughts on this book.
A sweet and steamy sapphic romance that is perfect to read curled up in your favourite chair or if you're more Like Teri, in a nice hot bath with a kindle in hand!
A Lesbian MC, Trans lesbian MC, and a cat called Number One, what else would you need in such a wonderful W/W romance!
I really liked the relationship that built between the two characters in this book and some of the friendships that are in it too.
I wish there was a bit more writing and mention of the coffee shop and the owner because it felt like it was mentioned and then just gone. It would have even been nice to see the couple go back to the shop maybe (but this is just my thoughts and me being a sucker for coffee shop meets)
Where their meeting was rather different to other meet cutes, I rather liked how it initially drew them together.
For anyone who is on the search for a steamy romance to read during pride month or any other month of the year, this is definitely an enjoyable book to pick up!
I was provided with an eArc of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review. This has by no means affected my thoughts on this book.
December 5, 2022
Awesome read
What an amazing beginning for this authors first published full length novel. The story and characters are engaging- between laughing and tears there is so much to this beautiful story. No spoilers. Just read the book. Waiting for the next one.
What an amazing beginning for this authors first published full length novel. The story and characters are engaging- between laughing and tears there is so much to this beautiful story. No spoilers. Just read the book. Waiting for the next one.
August 12, 2023
1/10
dnf 50%
Just nothing was really believable in this book to me. Not the how the things have played out nor the attraction between the mcs. It was so sudden, too soon really, and then all the characters kinda acted unnaturally tbh
dnf 50%
Just nothing was really believable in this book to me. Not the how the things have played out nor the attraction between the mcs. It was so sudden, too soon really, and then all the characters kinda acted unnaturally tbh
March 21, 2023
Here's an obscure wlw romance with trans rep and damn did I ever want to love it, but 40% is a complete disaster to me. I've read worse IM-TRANS moments in literature, which to be fair isn't a high bar to clear, but there's something specifically kind of sickly to me about how the subject of anatomy is handled in this one; it gave me the impression that Teri probably had some issues interally, and lacks confidence as a person. That isn't the time for gratitude... The subsequent chapter-long sex(obligatory shoutouts to LUBE) was also just kind of bad, with poor word choice(arse, knickers, thatch, etc) and was unpleasant. I don't tend to love sex in my books anyway(ironic for a romance reader, I know) but it wasn't anything special aside from the vocabulary, which bothered me extensively.
Elsewise, there's not really much of a plot to the halfway point, as Teri and Sophie(I think that's her name) love eachother to death from minute 1(i.e. first date) so there's no conflict there or as people, and nothing extrinsic for them to fight against. It is very uneventful. I did drop it at around 50ish percent, but if it's taking that long for anything to happen in your book, you're not holding my attention, y'know. "You just have to wait until season 5 for it to get good!" "You just have to play till the 25 hour mark for it to get good!"
I just didn't have the sense that Teri or Sophie were really growing or changing as people, at all. A good relationship(fictional ones, certainly) should be allowing both people to grow and evolve, right? Change, for the better. Teri and Sophie just kind of make mushy faces at eachother, and make out all day. There isn't enough to either of them; some backstory or maybe any kind of a real secondary cast could have helped flesh them out, but as stands Number One The Cat is the only other real character in the book. I get the sense that the author really LIKES these two, and that's all good, but I wanna know more about them. Get a sense for who they are, both through their words and their actions. This one didn't do that for me.
I would read something else by this author, though. Trans rep is a privilege at this point, and I'm generally hesitant to discourage authors from trying. Sadly, the only other Chloe Keto I see so far is a novella companion to this one. Oh well!
Elsewise, there's not really much of a plot to the halfway point, as Teri and Sophie(I think that's her name) love eachother to death from minute 1(i.e. first date) so there's no conflict there or as people, and nothing extrinsic for them to fight against. It is very uneventful. I did drop it at around 50ish percent, but if it's taking that long for anything to happen in your book, you're not holding my attention, y'know. "You just have to wait until season 5 for it to get good!" "You just have to play till the 25 hour mark for it to get good!"
I just didn't have the sense that Teri or Sophie were really growing or changing as people, at all. A good relationship(fictional ones, certainly) should be allowing both people to grow and evolve, right? Change, for the better. Teri and Sophie just kind of make mushy faces at eachother, and make out all day. There isn't enough to either of them; some backstory or maybe any kind of a real secondary cast could have helped flesh them out, but as stands Number One The Cat is the only other real character in the book. I get the sense that the author really LIKES these two, and that's all good, but I wanna know more about them. Get a sense for who they are, both through their words and their actions. This one didn't do that for me.
I would read something else by this author, though. Trans rep is a privilege at this point, and I'm generally hesitant to discourage authors from trying. Sadly, the only other Chloe Keto I see so far is a novella companion to this one. Oh well!
March 28, 2024
This is an interesting book - as it does not follow the normal romance pattern. In fact when I started reading it, I doubted that it would be a romance. There is a lot of talk about computers and hacking to begin with - and some suspense. But the hacking leads to the romance - how unlikely!
It's told from the point of view of the hacker. They are a rounded person though - unlike some of the ideas people have about computer geeks. I liked the trans story line as it was just part of it - and not a big deal. Just a normal thing to happen - needing to come out as trans as well as gay sounds quite exhausting. The emotions of this and the way that it plays out are interesting as part of the story. It is good to see a trans character not having a spotlight shone on them for it, but it just being a part of the character and not a major plot point.
And there is another book that looks at the life of one of the side characters
It's told from the point of view of the hacker. They are a rounded person though - unlike some of the ideas people have about computer geeks. I liked the trans story line as it was just part of it - and not a big deal. Just a normal thing to happen - needing to come out as trans as well as gay sounds quite exhausting. The emotions of this and the way that it plays out are interesting as part of the story. It is good to see a trans character not having a spotlight shone on them for it, but it just being a part of the character and not a major plot point.
And there is another book that looks at the life of one of the side characters
September 19, 2023
interesting take on hacking
Good book and great take on a hacker who really doesn’t want to injure people but needed a way to get money to live on after getting shafted doing her job the right way.
Good book and great take on a hacker who really doesn’t want to injure people but needed a way to get money to live on after getting shafted doing her job the right way.
August 6, 2024
Teri and Sophie met under negative circumstances but when faced to each other it turn into a positive experience. Well written, took the u-haul to a high level. Love at first sight. Easy to follow, good pace. Recommended.
April 28, 2025
Happy tears!
This was my first Trans story, and I loved it. Computer geeks come together and find what they had always wanted. Some criminal action may work as an instigation but eventually everything is solved and the sapphic romance lovers get their own happy ever after.
This was my first Trans story, and I loved it. Computer geeks come together and find what they had always wanted. Some criminal action may work as an instigation but eventually everything is solved and the sapphic romance lovers get their own happy ever after.
Read
June 18, 2022Not rating it as I DNF very early on. Nothing wrong with it, but I don’t think it’s for me.
December 20, 2022
Not bad but didn't hit the spot for me
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews